Data path for lithography apparatus

ABSTRACT

A maskless charged particle lithography system comprises an electron-optical column and a data path. The column includes a blanker array including blanker elements. The data path comprises a preprocessing system, transmission channels, and a pattern streaming system. The lithography system is configured for exposing a target field in two passes by allocating a first beamlet subset for exposing a first field subset during a first pass and a second beamlet subset for exposing a second field subset during a second pass. A first beam selector selects a first pattern data subset containing exposure data for the first beamlet subset and a second pattern data subset containing exposure data for the second beamlet subset. Second beam selectors connect transmission channels assigned for transmitting the first pattern data subset to a first blanker elements subset, and transmission channels assigned for transmitting the second pattern data subset to a second blanker elements subset.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a data path for a maskless lithographyapparatus, and in particular to a data path for transferring patterndata for control of a plurality of charged particle beamlets.

2. Description of the Related Art

A design for an integrated circuit is typically represented in acomputer-readable file containing data for patterning each layer of theintegrated circuit onto a silicon wafer. For lithography machines whichuse masks, this pattern data is typically used to manufacture a mask orset of masks which are then used by the lithography machine forpatterning the wafer. For maskless lithography machines, the patterndata file is electronically processed to put it into a format suitablefor controlling the lithography machine. For charged particlelithography machines, the pattern data file is converted into a set ofdata signals for controlling the charged particle beams used in thelithography process.

A maskless lithography machine using charged particles to expose thewafer may use a very large number of charged particle beams to producethe desired patterning critical dimensions while achieving the requiredthroughput. A data path is typically used to transmit the pattern datafrom an off-line data processing and storage system to the lithographymachine. A very large quantity of data is required to represent thepattern for the current and near future generations of integratedcircuit, necessitating a data path having a very large number ofchannels and very high data transmission rates per channel. However,this greatly increases the cost of the data path and it becomes a majorcomponent of the overall cost of a charged particle lithography machine.Due to the very large number of charged particle beams and data pathchannels, it is likely that a portion of the data path channels andcomponents for generating and modulating the charged particle beams willsuffer a failure or degradation in performance and should be not beused.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to address these problems to provide amaskless lithography system that can achieve a high throughput andreliable operation even when a portion of the data path channels andcomponents for generating and modulating the charged particle beams havefailed. The invention provides a maskless lithography system forexposing a wafer according to pattern data. According to one aspect ofthe invention the lithography system comprises an electron opticalcolumn for generating a plurality of charged particle beamlets forexposing the target. The electron optical column includes a beamletblanker array which includes a plurality of beamlet blanker elements formodulating the beamlets, and a data path comprises a preprocessingsystem for storing and processing the pattern data and a plurality oftransmission channels for transmitting the processed pattern data fromthe preprocessing system to the beamlet blanker elements, and a patternstreaming system for receiving the pattern data and generating datasignals for modulation of the beamlets. The lithography system isconfigured for exposing a field on the target in two passes byallocating a first subset of the beamlets for exposing a first subset ofthe field during a first pass and a second subset of the beamlets forexposing a second subset of the field during a second pass. The datapath comprises a first beam selector for selecting a first subset of thepattern data containing exposure data for the first subset of beamletsfor the first scan and selecting a second subset of the pattern datacontaining exposure data for the second subset of beamlets for thesecond scan, and a plurality of second beam selectors for connecting thetransmission channels assigned for transmitting the first subset of thepattern data to a first subset of the beamlet blanker elements formodulation of the first subset of beamlets during the first pass, andconnecting the transmission channels assigned for transmitting thesecond subset of the pattern data to a second subset of the beamletblanker elements for modulation of the second subset of beamlets duringthe second pass.

Each second beam selector may be constructed with a first number ofinputs and a second larger number of outputs, the inputs connected to afirst group of transmission channels and the outputs connected to asecond larger group of beamlet blanker elements. The number of outputsof the second beam selectors may be at least 1.5 times larger than thenumber of inputs. Each second beam selector may be configured to connecta subset of the second group of beamlet blanker elements to the firstgroup of transmission channels.

The first and second beam selectors may also be controlled according toan algorithm for selecting the first subset of beamlets for the firstscan and the second subset of beamlets for the second scan, theselections being made to avoid selecting defective beamlets. Thealgorithm may be configured to select beamlets for the first and secondsubsets using one or more criteria, the criteria used individually or incombination. The algorithm may select beamlets taking into account beamcurrent of the beamlets, the selections being made with a preference forbeamlets having a high beam current. The algorithm may select beamletstaking into account the difference in beam current between beamlets in asubset, the selections being made with a preference for a beamlet subsethaving a small spread in beam current. The algorithm may select beamletstaking into account spot size of the beamlets, the selections being madewith a preference for a beamlet subset having a small spread in spotsize. The algorithm may select beamlets taking into account lithographicperformance, the selections being made with a preference for a beamletsubset having good lithographic performance.

The field of the target may be divided into stripes, and the algorithmmay select the first subset of beamlets for exposing a first subset ofthe stripes, and select the second subset of beamlets for exposing asecond subset of the stripes, wherein the first and second subsets ofthe stripes comprise all of the stripes and where each stripe isselected only once. The algorithm may calculate a movement of the targetto enable the first subset of beamlets to expose the first subset ofstripes and the second subset of beamlets to expose the second subset ofstripes. The algorithm may calculate a shift between the beamlets andthe stripes which enables a selection of first and second subsets ofbeamlets to expose every stripe of the field after the first and secondpass, while avoiding selection of a defective beamlet.

The pattern streaming system may comprise a plurality of patternstreamers comprised in the data path, each pattern streamer forreceiving a portion of the pattern data and generating streamed beamletcontrol signals for modulating a corresponding group of beamlets. Thefirst beam selector may be positioned between the preprocessing systemand the pattern streaming system. Each transmission channel may bearranged for communication with a corresponding receiver on the beamletblanker array. The second beam selector may be connected between thereceivers and the beamlet blanker elements of the beamlet blanker array,for connecting the receivers to a selected subset of the beamlet blankerelements to establish transmission channels for transmitting the patterndata for modulation of the selected subset of beamlets.

The receivers, the second beam selectors, and the beamlet blankerelements, may be fabricated on a substrate of the beamlet blanker array.Each receiver may be connected for transmission of beamlet controlsignals to a group of beamlet blanker elements, and the data path maycomprise a plurality of multiplexers and demultiplexers, eachmultiplexer for multiplexing beamlet control signals for transmissionover a transmission channel for control of one of the groups ofbeamlets.

The data path may comprise electrical-to-optical conversion devices forconverting the beamlet control signals from electrical signals tooptical signals for transmission to the receivers, and also thetransmission channels comprise optical fibers for guiding the opticalsignals. The system may further comprise first and second channelselectors for connecting a subset of selected transmission channelsamong the transmission channels for transmitting the pattern data,wherein the first channel selector is connected between thepreprocessing system and the transmission channels and the secondchannel selector is connected between the channels and the beamletblanker elements.

In another aspect, a data path is provided for transmitting beamletmodulation data to a maskless lithography system, for modulating aplurality of charged particle beamlets generated by the lithographysystem for exposing a field of a target in two or more passes. The datapath comprises a plurality of transmission channels for transmitting thebeamlet modulation data to the lithography system, a first beam selectorfor selecting pattern data for transmission to the lithography systemvia a plurality of the transmission channels, a first beam selectoradapted to select a first subset of the pattern data containing exposuredata for a first subset of the charged particle beamlets fortransmission during a first scan of a first subset of the field, andselecting a second subset of the pattern data containing exposure datafor a second subset of the charged particle beamlets for transmissionduring a second scan of a second subset of the field, and a plurality ofsecond beam selectors for connecting the transmission channels assignedfor transmitting the first subset of the pattern data to a first subsetof the beamlet blanker elements for modulation of the first subset ofbeamlets during the first pass, and connecting the transmission channelsassigned for transmitting the second subset of the pattern data to asecond subset of the beamlet blanker elements for modulation of thesecond subset of beamlets during the second pass.

The data path may further comprise a preprocessing system for storingand processing the pattern data and a plurality of transmission channelsfor transmitting the processed pattern data from the preprocessingsystem to the beamlet blanker elements. The data path also include apattern streaming system for receiving pattern data and generating datasignals for modulation of the beamlets.

Each second beam selector may have a first number of inputs and a secondlarger number of outputs, the inputs connected to a first group oftransmission channels and the outputs connected for modulation of asecond larger group of beamlets. The number of outputs of the secondbeam selectors may be at least 1.5 times larger than the number ofinputs.

Each second beam selector may be configured to connect a subset of thesecond group of beamlet blanker elements to the first group oftransmission channels. The first and second beam selectors may becontrolled according to an algorithm for selecting the first subset ofbeamlets for the first scan and the second subset of beamlets for thesecond scan, the selections being made to avoid selecting defectivebeamlets. The algorithm may be configured to select beamlets taking intoaccount beam current of the beamlets, the selections being made with apreference for beamlets having a high beam current, and/or a preferencefor a beamlet subset having a small spread in beam current, and/or apreference for a beamlet subset having a small spread in spot size,and/or a preference for a beamlet subset having good lithographicperformance.

The field may be divided into stripes, and the algorithm may be adaptedto select the first subset of beamlets for exposing a first subset ofthe stripes, and selects the second subset of beamlets for exposing asecond subset of the stripes, wherein the first and second subsets ofthe stripes comprise all of the stripes and where each stripe isselected only once.

The algorithm may be configured to calculate a movement of the target toenable the first subset of beamlets to expose the first subset ofstripes and the second subset of beamlets to expose the second subset ofstripes, and/or may be configured to calculated a shift between thebeamlets and the stripes which enables a selection of first and secondsubsets of beamlets to expose every stripe of the field after the firstand second pass, while avoiding selection of a defective beamlet.

The data path may further comprise a pattern streaming system comprisinga plurality of pattern streamers, each pattern streamer for receiving aportion of the pattern data and generating streamed data signals formodulating a corresponding group of beamlets. The data path may alsocomprise first and second channel selectors connecting a subset ofselected transmission channels among the transmission channels fortransmitting the pattern data, wherein the first channel selector isconnected between a preprocessing system and the transmission channelsand the second channel selector is connected between the channels andbeamlet blanker elements for modulating the beamlets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of the invention and certain examples of embodiments ofthe invention are illustrated in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a maskless lithography system;

FIG. 2A is a simplified schematic drawing of an embodiment of a chargedparticle lithography system;

FIG. 2B is a simplified schematic drawing of a second embodiment of acharged particle lithography system;

FIG. 3 is a simplified diagram of a data path including an optical path;

FIG. 4A is a diagram of a wafer divided into fields;

FIG. 4B is a diagram showing writing direction for a wafer field;

FIG. 4C is a diagram of an arrangement of subbeams for exposing a waferfield;

FIG. 4D is an illustration of failed subbeams in the arrangement of FIG.4C;

FIG. 4E is an illustration of a two-scan exposure including a beam arrayshift;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of an example of a data path comprisingmultiple channels;

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram showing a data path including a patternstreamer and blanker array;

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of the data path of FIG. 6A and alsoincluding switch matrices for implementing redundant channels in thedata path and providing redundancy for beamlets;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a data path arrangement with redundantpaths;

FIG. 8A is a block diagram of a data path arrangement comprising aswitch for redundant path selection;

FIG. 8B is a block diagram of the data path of FIG. 8A with channelsarranged in clusters;

FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram of a pattern streamer;

FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram of signal receiving, switching anddemultiplexing circuitry for a beamlet blanker array;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are block diagrams of an embodiment signal receiving,switching and demultiplexing circuitry for a beamlet blanker array;

FIG. 12 is a simplified circuit diagram of a switching circuit;

FIG. 13 is a simplified circuit diagram of a channel selector circuitusing the switching circuit of FIG. 12;

FIGS. 14A to 14I are simplified circuit diagrams of switching patternsfor use in the channel selector circuit of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is schematic diagram of a beam selector; and

FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram of one embodiment of a beam selectorshowing a possible arrangement of switches in the beamlet blanker array.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The following is a description of various embodiments of the invention,given by way of example only and with reference to the drawings.

Charged Particle Lithography System

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a maskless lithography system 100divided into three high level sub-systems: a data path 101, alithography machine column 102, and wafer positioning system 103. Thelithography machine column 102 generates optical or charged particlebeams for exposing a wafer according to pattern data provided by thedata path. The wafer positioning system 103 moves the wafer under thecolumn 102 to enable scanning of the wafer by the exposure beamsgenerated by the column 102.

The wafer positioning system 103 typically includes a control system 107for controlling movement of a wafer table 108 on which the wafer isplaced. In one embodiment, the wafer positioning system moves the waferin an y-direction (according to the SEMI M20 coordinate system) whilethe beams are swept across the surface of the wafer in a x-directionperpendicular or nearly perpendicular to the y-direction. The waferpositioning system is provided with synchronization signals from thedata path 101 to synchronize the positioning of the wafer under theexposure beams with the pattern data transmitted to the column by thedata path.

The column 102 generates optical or charged particle beams (or othertypes of beams suitable for lithography) for exposing the wafer. Thebeams are scanned across the surface of the wafer and modulated insynchronization with the scanning according to pattern data provided bythe data path. The modulation of the beams may be performed by switchingindividual beams or groups of beams on and off, or by modulating theirintensity, or altering the beams in another way to result in an exposurepattern on the surface of the wafer which corresponds to the patterndata.

The data path 101 may include an off-line processing system 104, an“in-line” processing system 105, and a pattern streaming system 230. Theoff-line processing system 104 receives pattern data representingfeatures to be reproduced on the wafer, usually for making one layer ofa semiconductor integrated circuit. The pattern data is usuallygenerated in vector format, and the off-line processing system performsvarious preprocessing operations on the data in preparation for its usein the lithography machine. The preprocessed pattern data is thenuploaded to the lithography tool 109 for storage and further processingby the “in-line” processing system 105. When exposure of a wafer is totake place, the processed pattern data is transferred to the patternstreaming system 106 for streaming to the column 102.

The components are typically arranged as two separate groups ofequipment, an off-line processing system 104 and a lithography machine109, also referred to as a lithography tool. The lithography tooltypically includes the wafer positioning system 103, lithography machinecolumn 102, in-line processing system 105, and pattern streaming system106.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are simplified schematic diagrams of a charged particlelithography system 100 showing one possible embodiment of a electronoptical column 102. Such lithography systems are described for examplein U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,897,458; 6,958,804; 7,019,908; 7,084,414 and7,129,502, and U.S. patent application publication no. 2007/0064213;2009/0261267 and 2009/0212229, and co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. Nos. 12/905,126; 61/055,839; 61/058,596 and 61/101,682, which areall assigned to the owner of the present application and are all herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, the lithography system comprises acharged particle source 110, e.g. an electron source for producing anexpanding electron beam 130. The expanding electron beam 130 impinges onan aperture array 111, which blocks part of the beam to create aplurality of beamlets 131. The system generates a large number ofbeamlets, preferably in the range of about 10,000 to 1,000,000 beamlets.

The electron beamlets 131 pass through a condenser lens array 112 whichfocuses the electron beamlets 131. The beamlets 131 are collimated bycollimator lens system 113. The collimated electron beamlets passthrough XY deflector array 114, a second aperture array 115, and secondcondenser lens array 116. The resulting beamlets 132 next pass throughbeam blanker array 117, comprising a plurality of blankers fordeflecting one or more of the beamlets. The beamlets pass through mirror148 and arrive at beam stop array 118, which has a plurality ofapertures. The beamlet blanker array 117 and beam stop array 118 operatetogether to switch the beamlets on or off, by either blocking beamletsor letting them pass. The beamlet blanker array 117 can deflect abeamlet so that it will not pass through a corresponding aperture inbeam stop array 118, but instead will be blocked. If beamlet blankerarray 117 does not deflect a beamlet, then it will pass through thecorresponding aperture in beam stop array 118. The undeflected beamletspass through the beam stop array, and through a beam deflector array 119and projection lens arrays 120.

Beam deflector array 119 provides for deflection of each beamlet 133 inthe x- and/or y-direction, substantially perpendicular to the directionof the undeflected beamlets, to sweep the beamlets across the surface ofwafer or target 121. This deflection is separate from the deflectionused by the beamlet blanker array to switch the beamlets on or off.Next, the beamlets 133 pass through projection lens arrays 120 and areprojected onto target 121. The projection lens arrangement preferablyprovides a demagnification of about 100 to 500 times. The beamlets 133impinge on the surface of target 121 positioned on a moveable stage ofthe wafer positioning system 103. For lithography applications, thetarget usually comprises a wafer provided with a charged-particlesensitive layer or resist layer.

The representation shown in FIG. 2A is much simplified. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 2B, a single electron beam 130 is collimated bylens system 113 and is then partitioned into many smaller subbeams 134by first aperture array 114 a. The subbeams 134 are focused by condenserarrays 116 and are then split into an even larger number of beamlets bysecond aperture array 114 b. Such a system is described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/905,126, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. Although only three subbeams and ninebeamlets are shown in the diagram, a large number of subbeams andbeamlets are generated by the system, as discussed in more detail below.

In this system each subbeam is split into a number of beamlets which,together, can be considered a patterned beam. In one embodiment, eachsubbeam is split into 49 beamlets arranged in a 7×7 array. The beamletblanker array preferably comprises one hole with an associated blankerelectrode for each beamlet, to enable on/off switching of eachindividual beamlet. The arrangement of beamlets in a patterned beam andwriting strategies are described for example in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/960,675, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety. The beam deflector array and projection lens array preferablyinclude only one hole and lens for each patterned beam (e.g. one hole orlens for each group of 49 beamlets making up one patterned beam). Agroup of beamlets is preferably arranged to expose a single stripe onthe wafer, and the data for controlling the modulation (e.g. on/offswitching) of the beamlets in a group is typically combined(interleaved/multiplexed) and transmitted in a group, e.g. for writing asingle stripe.

Data Path Architecture

A simplified block diagram of one embodiment of a data path 101 is shownin FIG. 3, and a portion of the data path also appears in FIG. 2A. Theswitching of beamlet blanker array 117 is controlled via the data path.A processing unit 140 receives information describing the layout of thedevice to be manufactured by the lithography machine, typically providedin a vector file format. The processing unit (which may include anoff-line processing system 104, and/or an in-line processing system 105performs a series of transformations of this information to generatedata for control of the beamlet blanker array 117.

The data is transmitted via channels 142 to pattern streamer 230 and thesignals are then streamed to electro-optical conversion devices 242,such as laser diodes, to convert the electrical data signals intooptical signals. The optical control signals are then transmitted viatransmission system 244, in this embodiment comprising optical fibers145, free space light beams 146, microlenses 147 (and mirror 148 in theconfiguration shown in FIG. 2A). The optical data signals are guidedthrough optical fibers 145. Free space light beams 146 at the output ofthe fibers may be guided through optical devices such an array ofmicrolenses 147. The individual light beams are directed onto aplurality of optical-to-electrical conversion devices 150, such as photodiodes, which are preferably located on a surface of the beam blankerarray 117. Preferably, for every optical fiber 145 there is acorresponding photo diode 150 on the beamlet blanker array. The photodiodes convert the optical data signals into electrical signals toactivate the individual beam blanker electrodes 152 to modulate thebeamlets 132 or control the deflection of beamlets 132 to switch theindividual beamlets on or off.

The ends of the optical fibers 145 may be mounted very close to theoptical-to-electrical conversion devices 150 so that the free spacelight beams 146 are very short, and the microlenses and mirror omittedmay be omitted. This may be implemented to achieve a mechanicalseparation of the optical fibers and beamlet blanker. Alternatively, thefree space light beams may travel over a longer path. In one embodiment,the free space light beams are directed onto a holey mirror 148 which isangled so that the light beams are reflected onto the underside of beamblanker array 117 where the optical-to-electrical conversion devices 150are located. The ends of the optical fibers may also be mounted to thatthere are no free space light beams at all.

The data signals for controlling the individual beamlet blankerelectrodes, and control signals such as synchronizing and clock signals,are preferably time or frequency multiplexed, so that each optical fiber145 and light beam 146 carries signals for a channel comprising a numberof beamlets that, e.g., share one laser diode, one optical fiber andphoto diode. The multiplexed light beams are received by the photodiodes 150 and converted into an electrical signal. The beamlet blankerarray 117 includes logic for demultiplexing each signal received by aphoto diode to derive multiple signals for individually controlling anumber of beamlet blanker electrodes 152. In a preferred embodiment,individual signals for controlling a single group of beamlets formingone patterned beam, e.g. 49 beamlets, are time multiplexed fortransmission over a single optical fiber, and are received by a singlephoto diode on the beamlet blanker array.

In addition to multiplexing, the beamlet data and control signals mayalso be arranged in frames for transmission and may have synchronisationbits and additional encoding to improve transmission, e.g. using anencoding technique to achieve frequent signal transitions, to avoidusing the laser diodes and photo diodes in a DC-coupled fashion. Byforcing transitions, the clock signal may be also automaticallydistributed in the optical signal.

Closer to the wafer the beam deflector array 119 is used to deflect theelectron beamlets in the x-direction (also accompanied by a smalldeflection in the y-direction) to achieve scanning of the electronbeamlets over the surface of the wafer 121. In the described embodiment,the wafer 121 is mechanically moved in the y-direction by the waferpositioning system 101, and the electron beamlets are swept across thewafer in a x-direction substantially perpendicular to the y-direction.When writing data, the beamlets are deflected slowly (compared to thefly-back time) in the x-direction. At the end of a sweep, the beamletsare moved quickly back to the start position of the x-range (this isreferred to as the fly-back). The beam deflector array 119 receivestiming and synchronization information from the data path 101 forcontrolling this beamlet sweep. Note that the term “scan” in thefollowing description refers to scanning the beamlets over the wafer inthe y-direction, typically as a result of moving the wafer in ay-direction.

The current lithography industry standard is a 300 mm wafer. FIG. 4Ashows a wafer 501 divided into fields 502. Rectangular fields areusually defined on the surface of the wafer, typically with a maximumdimension of 26 mm×33 mm. Each field may be processed to producemultiple semiconductor devices (i.e. the pattern data for exposing asingle field may include the layout design for making multipleintegrated circuit devices) but the layouts for individual devices donot typically cross a field border. With a maximum size of 26 mm×33 mmthere are typically 63 complete fields available on a single standardwafer. Smaller fields are possible and will result in a higher number offields per wafer. The pattern data usually describes the features of asingle field, and the same pattern data is usually used for the entirewafer, so that each field of the wafer is exposed with the same pattern.It is also possible to write partial (incomplete) fields, for example bywriting full fields into the partial area crossing a wafer boundary.

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of a field 502 of width 508 (e.g. 26 mm)and length 510 (e.g. 33 mm), the field divided into stripes 504 of width512 (e.g. 2 micrometers) running the length of the field in they-direction. The writing direction and sweep of the beamlets in eachstripe is illustrated by the lines 506, showing the beamlet deflectionin the x-direction while the wafer stage moves in the y-direction, andthe return sweep, creating a triangular shaped writing path. Note, thatthe beamlets typically only write while sweeping in one direction, andare turned off during the return sweep (returning beamlets to thestarting x position). The wafer is preferably written on (exposed) bythe lithography machine in both a forward and backward y-direction (i.e.+y and −y direction). The direction of writing in the x-direction (bythe beamlet scan deflector) is usually in one direction.

FIG. 4C shows a possible of arrangement of an array of beams 514 forexposing a wafer field, each beam being represented by a dot. In thefollowing description these beams are referred to as subbeams (which mayeach comprise a number of beamlets), although the description could alsoapply for an array of beamlets. The subbeams 514 are arranged in atilted array, the width 509 of the array of subbeams in the x-directionbeing substantially the same or slightly greater than the width 508 ofthe field, and the distance 512 between adjacent subbeams in thex-direction (the pitch) being substantially the same as the width of onestripe of the field. In this arrangement, each subbeam writes a singlestripe of the field. Furthermore, each subbeam may be a patterned beamcomprising a number of beamlets. In FIG. 4D the beam arrangement of FIG.4C is shown with a number of failed or out-of-specification subbeams 516indicated with an “X”. The subbeams are shown projected into a line 518in the x-direction, illustrating the gaps 520 resulting from failed orout-of-specification subbeams (when projected onto line 518, thesubbeams will actually have a gap between them equal to the pitch ofdistance 512). As the wafer is moved in the y-direction during a firstpass of the exposure, the subbeams write along the length of the stripesof a field. The stripes falling under the gaps 520 will not be written.The wafer can be shifted slightly in the x-direction so that functioningsubbeams are aligned with the stripes that were not written in the firstpass. A second pass can then be performed, so that the stripes missed onthe first pass are now written by functioning subbeams.

When the size (width 508) of a field is chosen to be smaller than thesize (width) of the electron/optical (EO) slit (i.e. the size of thecomplete array of beamlets as projected onto the wafer) (e.g. smallerthan the maximum size of 26 mm), then more fields can be placed on thewafer, but not all of the beamlets will be used to write on each field.The EO slit will need to scan the wafer more times and the overallthroughput will decrease. When a machine is writing patterns to a field,at some moment the beamlet blanker array enters the next field andstarts writing patterns in it, so the machine can preferably write intwo fields at the same time. If a field is sufficiently small, themachine may be designed to write 3 fields at the same time.

In a preferred embodiment of the lithography machine, the machinegenerates a large number of subbeams (a subbeam being a patterned beamcomprising a group of beamlets) for exposing the stripes on the wafer inan exposure, there being slightly more subbeams than stripes. Thebeamlet blanker array preferably contains a photo diode for each subbeamand an blanker aperture for each beamlet. In this embodiment, each photodiode in the beamlet blanker array receives a multiplexed signal forcontrol of a set of blanker elements/beamlet deflectors for control ofthe beamlets in the corresponding subbeam.

For example, the machine may generate 13,260 subbeams for exposing13,000 stripes of a full field on the wafer in one or more exposures, sothat there are 2% more beams than stripes. In this embodiment, eachsubbeam may be split into 49 beamlets, resulting in 649,740 beamlets(i.e. 13,260×49). The beamlet blanker array contains 13,260 photo diodesand 649,740 apertures in an area of approximately 26×26 mm. Each photodiode in the beamlet blanker array receives a multiplexed signal forcontrol of 49 (7×7) blanker elements/beamlet deflectors formodulating/deflecting the 49 beamlets of one subbeam. The 13,260subbeams over a distance of 26 mm result in a stripe of width 2 μm inthe x-direction (perpendicular to the mechanical scan) and as long asthe field in y-direction. Each patterned beam comprising 49 beamletswrites a single stripe on the wafer.

Channels

The data path may be divided into a number of channels. A channel is adata path from a processing unit to the lithography system (and may beconsidered to conceptually extend all the way from a pattern data filein a preprocessing unit through the lithography machine to the exposedtarget). FIG. 5 shows a conceptual diagram of an example of a systemcomprising multiple channels. A pattern data file 202 is divided intoportions 202 a, 202 b, etc. which relate to portions of the pattern tobe exposed on the target. In one embodiment, each portion includespattern data for a stripe of a field to be exposed on a wafer. Thepattern data 202 is transmitted via pattern streamer 230 andtransmission channel 240, which in this example comprise separatepattern streamers 230 a, 230 b, etc. and transmission channels 240 a,240 b, etc. for processing portions of the pattern data and transmittinga stream of beamlet data and control signals for each portion of thepattern data.

The transmission channels 204 transmit the beamlet data and controlsignals to the beamlet blanker array 117 of the lithography machine. Inone embodiment, the beamlet blanker array includes signal receivingelements 150 a, 150 b, etc. each for receiving beamlet signals from acorresponding processing and communication channel, the signal receivingelements communicating the received signals to corresponding groups ofblanker elements 152 a, 152 b, etc. each for modulating a group ofbeamlets according to pattern data transmitted by a single channel. Thebeamlet blanker array 117 modulates beamlets according to the beamletdata signals to expose a field 208 on the target 121. In one embodiment,the beamlets modulated by each group of blanker elements 152 a, 152 b,etc. expose a corresponding stripe 208 a, 208 b, etc. of the field onthe target.

In one embodiment each communication channel comprises a patternstreamer, an electrical-to-optical converter (e.g. a laser diode), andan optical fiber for transmitting optical beamlet data and controlsignals, and may also include an arrangement for transmission of theoptical signals in free space. The optical signals are received byoptical-to-electrical converters (e.g. photo diodes) 150 a, 150 b, etc.which convert the received optical signals into electrical signals forcontrol of the beamlet blanker elements.

A channel may be assigned to transmit data and control signals for asingle beam/patterned beam comprising a number of individual beamlets(e.g. 49 beamlets making up one patterned electron beam). One patternedbeam may be used for writing a single stripe on the wafer. In thisarrangement, a channel represents the data path dedicated to control ofone patterned beam comprising multiple beamlets (e.g. 49 beamlets) andcarrying the beamlet signals for writing one stripe according to thepattern data.

As a result of the very large number of channels and extremely high datatransmission rates per channel, the cost of the data path is a majorelement of the overall cost of a charged particle lithography machine.Due to the very large number of channels, it is likely that a portion ofthe data path channels will suffer a failure or loss of fidelity andshould not be used during an exposure. Furthermore, due to the verylarge number of beamlets that must be generated and precisely controlledin the lithography machine, it is likely that a portion of the beamletswill suffer a failure or become out-of-specification and should not beused during an exposure. To cope with the failure of channels the datapath should include spare channels, and to cope with the failure ofbeamlets, the data path should include a means to reallocate channels tobeamlets to ensure that the entire wafer can be exposed by properlyfunctioning beamlets.

The data path preferably provides additional capacity to provideredundancy for failed channels, by including enough channels to transmitpattern data for exposure of the wafer plus an additional number ofchannels available as spare or redundant channels. This allows the useof spare transmission channels and/or spare blanker receiver circuitry(e.g. photodiodes) to compensate for failed channels between theprocessing system and the beamlet blanker array and/or compensate for<100% yield of beamlet blanker circuitry. This design also allows thetesting of spare channels while exposures are simultaneously takingplace, and with only a small amount of extra test circuitry since thiscan be switched to any channel.

The data path preferably also provides facilities for providingredundancy for failed or out-of-specification beamlets. This can beachieved using a two-pass (or multi-pass) scan strategy, in which afirst scan of the wafer writes a portion of the field stripes and asecond scan writes the remaining portion of the stripes, to result inwriting all of the stripes of each field of the wafer over the twoscans. A dual-scan exposure approach (i.e. aprimary-scan/redundancy-scan) is preferably implemented by splitting theactive channels per scan approximately 50%/50%. This provides severalbenefits. It results in a smoothing out of the wafer heating effectbecause each scan of a dual-scan exposure involves fewer andapproximately the same number of beams. The maximum power consumption isreduced and there is less variation in the power consumption of thesystem due to a more even division of power consumption over the twoscans. Also less processing resources are needed, particularly real-timeprocessing resources, for processing the pattern data to prepare fortransmission to the lithography machine, because the processing is splitmore evenly between the primary and secondary scans. This reduces cost,reduces the footprint of the pattern data processing systems, savesexpensive fab floor space, and reduces power consumed by the processingsystems. This design also reduces the number of optical transmissioncomponents in the data path by sharing them over primary and secondaryscans, saving on component cost, complexity and maintenance cost, andreducing the power and area consumed by the optical-to-electricalconverters and associated circuitry on the blanker array.

The strategy to balance the number of active channels over primary andsecondary scans and obtain these advantages may be implemented with theaddition of a “switch matrix” (e.g. switches 400 and 420 shown in FIG.6B), to switch processing and/or transmission resources to the activebeams for each scan.

FIG. 6A is a simplified schematic diagram showing a data path 101 andblanker array 117. The data path 101 comprises processing system 140with a hard disk storage for storing pattern data 202, which istransmitted to pattern streamer 230 and then streamed toelectrical-to-optical (E/O) conversion devices 242 to generate opticalsignals for transmission over transmission channels 244 comprisingoptical fibers. The optical signals are received byoptical-to-electrical (O/E) conversion devices 150 which generatecorresponding electrical signals which are transmitted to beamletblanker electrodes 152 for modulation of the beamlets 132.

FIG. 6B is a simplified schematic diagram showing the same systemincluding switch matrices 400 and 420 for implementing redundant (spare)channels in the data path and to provide redundancy for failed orout-of-specification beamlets.

The pattern data 202 from the hard disk first passes through a firstprimary/secondary beam selector 210 which selects a portion of thepattern data for the particular scan being performed, e.g. either thefirst (primary) scan or second (secondary or redundant) scan. Thepattern data selected by the first primary/secondary beam selector 210is loaded into memory 212, and then passes through first channelselector 220, which selects which channels to use for transmitting thepattern data. The pattern data is transmitted over the selected channelsto E/O devices 242 which generate optical signals for transmission overoptical fibers 244. The optical signals are received by O/E devices 150which generate corresponding electrical data/control signals which passthrough a second channel selector 320 and a second primary/secondarybeam selector 330, and are transmitted to beamlet blanker elements 152for modulation of the beamlets.

The two channel selectors 220 and 320 operate in conjunction with eachother to select which channels to use for transmission of pattern datafor a particular scan. The selectors operate to select a spare channelin place of a failed channel to implement a channel redundancy scheme.

The two primary/secondary beam selectors 210 and 330 operate inconjunction with each other to select a portion of the pattern data 202to be transmitted to selected beamlet blanker elements. This enables amatching of the beams used in each scan and the pattern data for thestripes on the wafer to be exposed by those beams. The blanker elementswhich modulate or switch the beamlets of a beam must have the correctpattern data transmitted to them, corresponding to the stripes on thewafer to be exposed by the beam. This matching of pattern data and beamsenables a multi-pass scan and provides a redundancy mechanism to addressfailure of beamlets.

The first primary/secondary beam selector 210 and first channel selector220 form a first switch matrix 420, and the second channel selector 320and second primary/secondary beam selector 330 form a second switchmatrix 400. To obtain the maximum number of advantages, the switchmatrix 420 can best be implemented before the processing resources ofthe pattern streamer 230, and switch matrix 400 after the opticaltransmission receivers 150 at the blanker array 117. Implementation ofthe switch matrix 400 at the blanker array side results in a reductionof resources required at the pattern streamer 230 and optical fibers244. The switch matrix 400 is preferably located on the blanker array117 so that it is in close proximity to the beamlet blanker elements 152which deflect the beamlets.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a data path arrangement with redundantpaths comprising a first beam selector 210, first channel selector 220,pattern streamer 230, transmission system 240, signal receivers 150,second channel selector 320, second beam selector 330, and beamletblanker elements 152. Pattern data 202 typically resides on disk in adata file in an offline system 104 but may also be stored on other mediaand/or in a realtime system or part of the lithography tool. The patterndata file comprises pattern data for a large number of channels forcontrol of large number of electron beams.

Data Path Redundancy

The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 includes additional capacity in the datapath to provide for redundancy. The channel selectors 220 and 320provide for this redundancy by connecting to selected channels providedby the pattern streamer 230, transmission system 240, and signalreceiver 150. The pattern streamer 230, transmission system 240, andsignal receiver 150 preferably provide enough channels to transmitpattern data for each scan of the wafer or for each pass of a multi-passscan of the wafer, plus an additional number of channels available asspare or redundant channels.

The pattern streamer 230 comprises multiple pattern streamers 230 a, 230b, etc. which each provide for processing a portion of the pattern datafor one channel to generate a streamed beam data/control signal. Anembodiment of a pattern streamer is shown in FIG. 9 and described inmore detail below.

The transmission system 240 comprises multiple transmission elements 240a, 240 b, etc. each for transmission of beam data/control signals forone channel of the data path. The transmission elements comprise thecomponents for transmitting the beam signals from the pattern streamersto the blanker of the lithography machine. The transmission elements mayprovide for transmission of electronic signals, or conversion fromelectrical to optical signals and transmission of the optical signals.In one arrangement, the transmission elements comprise electro-opticalconversion devices and optical fibers, e.g. as described above inconnection with FIG. 3.

The signal receiver 150 comprises multiple receivers 150 a, 105 b, etc.In one arrangement the receivers comprise optical-to-electricalconversion devices for receiving an optical signal and converting itback to an electrical signal, e.g. as described above in connection withFIG. 3. The signal receivers are preferably located on the blanker sothat the beam data/control signals can be conveniently transferred tothe individual beam blanker electrodes to modulate or switch theindividual beamlets. An individual pattern streamer 230 a, transmissionelement 240 a, and signal receiver 150 a, may be arranged as shown inFIG. 7 to form a single channel of the data path for processing andtransmission of data/control signals for a single beam (or patternedbeam). In case of a failure of one or more of the components in achannel, the channel selectors 220 and 320 can be used to avoid usingthe failed channel by selecting an alternative channel.

To deal with a certain number of failed transmission channels (mainlydue to the channel yield of the blanker chip not being 100%), extrachannels are needed. For example, in an embodiment designed to expose13,000 stripes on a wafer using 13,260 patterned beams in two scans,each stripe being exposed by one patterned beam receiving data/controlsignals from one channel, the number of channels needed in the data pathmay be calculated as approximately one half of the 13,260 activechannels (for the complete exposure) plus a certain number of sparechannels. For example, this may comprise 7/13 of 13,260, i.e. 7140active channels, with approximately 9% spare channels (i.e. 9% of 7140)equals approximately 7800 channels.

The use of the primary/secondary beam selectors 210 and 330 enables areduction of overall number of channels, in the above example from13,260 to approximately 7800. The channel selectors 220 and 320 enableselection among the pool of channels which permits an initial loweryield for the components of the channels (including photo diodes) to betolerated and allowing for channels becoming out-of-specification inmanufacture or during operation, resulting in less stringentmanufacturing requirements and a lower MTBR (Mean Time Between Repair)for the data path. The switch matrixes also allow for on-line monitoringof channel performance by means of a shared transmission bit errorchecker.

The switch matrixes result in a small increase of silicon area for thecircuitry and power consumption, but since the circuitry involved ismostly static, the power consumption increase is small. Additionalcontrol circuitry is also required of the switch matrix.

For a system yield (i.e. total channels operational) of 98% or greater,and a channel yield of 96% (i.e. maximum of 4% of channels defective)and a group (cluster) size of 357 optical channels, it is calculatedthat 9.2% extra channels are needed in one embodiment with 33 extraoptical channels per cluster, the cluster comprising a total of 390channels with 357 active channels. In one embodiment, the 357 channelsare divided into 51 units of 7 channels each, each 7 channels forcontrolling 7 subbeams out of a row of 13 consecutive subbeams in the EOslit matrix.

Multi-Pass Scan

The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 also provides for a multi-pass scanstrategy, in which a first scan of the wafer writes a portion of thefield stripes and a second scan writes the remaining portion of thestripes, to result in writing all of the stripes of each field of thewafer. This principal can also be extended to three scans or four scansetc., although a greater number of scans increases the total time forexposing the wafer and reduces wafer throughput. Thus, a two-pass scan(also referred to as dual scan) approach is preferred. A multi-pass scaninevitably reduces throughput, but is performed in order to ensure thatonly properly functioning beams are used for the exposure so that nostripes or areas of the wafer which should be exposed are left unexposedor improperly exposed. Even one missed/unexposed stripe within a fieldtypically renders that field of the wafer useless, and thus a two-passscan is preferred.

A multi-pass scan can be used to compensate for failed, misaligned, orotherwise out-of-specification beamlets (referred to generally as afailed beamlet). Where the lithography machine generates and modulates avery large number of beamlets, it a greatly preferred to avoid thenecessity of including an additional system within the machine formanipulating the path of individual beamlets or groups of beamlets toreallocate functioning beamlets into writing positions occupied byfailed beamlets. A multi-pass scan strategy avoids this, the beamletsbeing reallocated by moving the wafer to a different position during asecond (or subsequent) scan.

The failure rate of beamlets is typically low making a two-pass scanfeasible for this purpose. To extend the time between maintenance of thesystem as much as possible, a check may be performed periodically toidentify failing beamlets. This check may be performed before each waferscan, before each first scan of a wafer, or at some other convenientmoments. The check may include one or more beam measurements, includingfor example as described in co-pending U.S. application 61/122,591,which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Where a failed beamlet is detected, the affected beamlet may be switchedoff so that the area (stripe) that would have been exposed by thatbeamlet is not written. A second scan is then used to write the waferstripe that was omitted during the first scan. In a patterned-beamletsystem such as described above which uses one channel to transmitdata/control signals for one patterned beam comprising multiplebeamlets, the complete channel that includes the failed beamlet ispreferably switched off, and the complete stripe of the wafer field thatwould have been exposed by the beamlets of that channel will not bewritten. After performing a first scan of the entire wafer, a secondscan may then be performed to fill in the missing stripe (and any othermissing stripes for other channels with failed beamlets) using afunctioning channel which has all its beamlets operating in-spec.

For the second scan the wafer may be returned to the starting positionafter the first scan, but it may also be shifted to a position whichensures that properly functioning channels are available for writing themissing stripes. For the second (redundancy) scan of a dual-scanexposure, the pattern data is preferably prepared (i.e. processed toconvert the pattern data into a format suitable for transmitting to theblanker) in the lithography system during the first scan to enable thesecond scan to begin as soon as possible after completion of the firstscan. There is preferably no significant delay between the end of thefirst scan and the start of the second scan, so data for the second scanis preferably available quickly on the appropriate node. The lithographymachine is preferably able to write successive in-line fields in onescan, and write in both directions in a y-direction parallel with themechanical scan, i.e. both +y-direction and −y-directions. The machinealso preferably includes spare beams (or spare patterned beamscomprising multiple beamlets), usually located at the edges of thecolumn, although this is not necessary to implement the dual scanstrategy.

In order to write the missing stripes during the second scan by properlyfunctioning channels, the wafer may be shifted (offset) with respect tothe column of the lithography machine in the +x-direction or−x-direction, in an amount corresponding to a number of stripes, untilchannels with properly functioning beamlets are positioned to write themissing stripe positions. This is preferably accomplished, at least inpart, by a mechanical offset of the wafer on the stage. To deal betterwith all kinds of error positions (e.g. failure of both the first andlast channel), an offset of the wafer for both the first and secondscans may be desirable.

FIG. 4C shows a possible of arrangement of subbeams 514 for exposing awafer field, and FIG. 4D illustrates the effect of failed subbeams 516.The subbeams projected into a line 518 in the x-direction has gaps 520corresponding to the failed subbeams. As the wafer is moved in they-direction during a first scan, the stripes falling under the gaps 520will not be written. The wafer can be shifted slightly in thex-direction so that functioning subbeams are aligned with the stripesthat were not written in the first pass. A second pass can then beperformed, so that the stripes missed on the first pass are now writtenby functioning subbeams.

FIG. 4E shows an array of subbeams 522 for a first scan with failedsubbeams (indicated by an “X”) and the same array shifted two positions524 for a second scan. The subbeams in array 522 corresponding to thefailed subbeams in array 524 are indicated by a “1” and the subbeams atthese positions must be written during the first scan (because none ofthe subbeams of array 524 can write in these positions). Similarly, thesubbeams in array 524 corresponding to the failed subbeams in array 522are indicated by a “2” and the subbeams at these positions must bewritten during the second scan. The other subbeam positions (indicatedby a dot) may be written by either the array 522 in the first scan orarray 524 in the second scan. As discussed above, to reduce the size ofthe data path, the allocation of active subbeams to each scan may bemade so that approximately half of the subbeam positions are writtenduring each scan. The subbeam array 524 is illustrated as being shiftedin FIG. 4E, but in practice it is usual to shift the wafer. Due to thisshift, the subbeams projected onto line 518 in the x-direction has nogaps because all of the positions corresponding to a failed subbeam canbe written by a functioning subbeams during one of the scans. On line518 there is a central overlapping region 526 which may be writtenduring either scan, and an “extension” at either end which may bewritten during only one of the scans. To increase the probability that afunctioning subbeam is always available to write each in position duringone of the scans, the overlapping region 526 is larger than width 508 ofthe field. The size of the extension at both ends of the subbeam arraywidth, i.e. slit width, has a direct relation to the probability offinding a functioning subbeam to write in every position across thewidth of the field over the preferred maximum of two scans, so that nostripes are missed. The larger the extension the higher the probabilityto successfully find a match of functioning subbeams to writingpositions that allows writing a field without missing lines, at themaximum expected beam failure rate. The larger the amount of subbeamfailures, the smaller the chance of finding a successful match within areasonable time, up to the point that it becomes impossible at all tofind such a match.

Various algorithms may be used to calculate the channels to be used forthe first and second scans and the wafer offset required for each scan,to result in all stripes being written by functioning channels. For atwo-pass scan, the algorithm looks for an approximate 50/50 split ofchannels between each scan that does not use any failed channels. A“brute force” approach could be used to test various channel allocationsand wafer offsets to find a suitable combination, or more sophisticatedmatching beam selector algorithms could be used.

For a lithography system using a two-pass scan, the number ofsubbeams/beamlets may also be reduced. In principle, the requirement isto provide a functioning beam at every writing position across the widthof a field for at least one of the two passes (e.g. 13,000 subbeams at a2 micron pitch over the 26 mm width of a field). This is illustrated inFIG. 4D, where every position along the line 518 requires a functioningsubbeam in one of the exposure scans in order to correctly expose thefield across its entire width in two scans. In theory it is possible toachieve this with a lithography machine having less beams than thenumber of writing positions across the field width (e.g. with less than13,000 subbeams). However, to achieve this in practice, a preferredembodiment includes slightly more subbeams than writing positions acrossthe field. This results in at least one alternate subbeam at eachwriting position across the field width. In this arrangement, thesubbeam array width 509 will be slightly more than the field width 508,with a small extension at both ends, so that a shift of the wafer forthe second pass still results in the central overlapping section 526covering the full width 508 of the field to be exposed. The emphasis inthe design is in raising the probability that a field will be writtencorrectly, i.e. by writing all stripes in the field with properlyfunctioning subbeams/beamlets, given a certain allowed or expectednumber of beam failures in the system, e.g. a maximum expected failurerate of 2%. Exposing the field in two passes reduces the throughput ofthe lithography machine and should be avoided where possible.

In one embodiment having 2% more subbeams than stripes, e.g. 13,260subbeams for exposing 13,000 stripes, the match between subbeams andstripes can be shifted at most 260 stripes between the groups of 13,000consecutive subbeams available for the first and second scans. Fromthese two groups of 13,000 consecutive subbeams, the subbeams actuallyselected for writing the stripes will later be selected. To evaluate allpossible matches, the matching algorithm would evaluate 260×260=67,600possible combinations to find two suitable groups of subbeams forwriting the 13,000 stripes in two passes. Because the groups of subbeamsselected in the first and second pass are interchangeable, this reducesthe number of combinations by about half, to 33,930. Furthermore, thecalculation can be parallelized since testing the suitability of eachcombination of groups of subbeams in the first and second pass can bedone independently.

In one embodiment, the beam selector algorithm is written to loopthrough all possible combinations of two groups of 13,000 subbeams. Eachtime, a function is called to determine which subbeam can write whichstripe in each pass. In this function, for each stripe (1-13,000) it isdetermined which subbeam can write the stripe in the first pass and thesecond pass. If a stripe can be written by only one subbeam in eitherthe first or second pass, that subbeam is assigned to write the stripein the relevant pass. If no subbeams can be found to write a stripe, thefunction exits and a new combination of two groups of 13,000 subbeams isevaluated. If two different subbeams can write a stripe, no subbeam isassigned yet to write it.

In the next step, the actual assignment is performed of which subbeam inwhich pass will write which stripe. This function determines for allstripes if it is written in the first or second pass and by whichsubbeam. This function may alternate between first and second pass inassigning consecutive stripes to a subbeam number.

Note that in both functions, a record for the first and second pass ismaintained of the number of subbeams that will write a stripe in eachrow of 13 subbeams in a beam area of the EO slit. Each row of 13 beamsin the EO slit is assigned to a group number, to ensure that not morethan 7 subbeams will be selected for a pass out of a row of 13 subbeamsin the EO slit.

Besides the ability to compensate for failed beamlets, a multi-pass scanalso has the advantage that the total exposure current for the wafer isdivided between two (or more) scans, reducing the instantaneous heatingof the wafer and smoothing out the heat load on the wafer over multiplescans. Using multiple scans also reduces the required capacity in thedata path. When using two scans for each wafer, the data transmissioncapacity of the data path is theoretically halved, because each scanonly requires half of the amount of beamlet control data. This reductionin required capacity is significant because of the enormous datatransmission capacity required and the associated high cost of the datapath. For example, for a lithography machine with 49 beamlets perpatterned beam comprising one channel, a transmission capacity ofapproximately 4 Gbit/sec per channel may be expected. A lithographymachine with 13,260 patterned beams each with 49 beamlets would require13,260 channels each of 4 Gbit/sec capacity. Thus, reducing the requiredcapacity for the data path is significant. For these reasons, amulti-pass scan is advantageous even in the absence of any failed ormisaligned beamlets.

The beam selectors 210 and 330 may be used to implement a multi-passscan strategy in the data path. The first beam selector 210 selects aportion of the pattern data file for transmission via the data path tothe lithography machine during each scan of the wafer, and the secondbeam selector 330 routes the transmitted beam data/control signals tothe beamlet blanker elements corresponding to the patterned beamsselected for use during the scan, for modulation of the appropriatebeamlets. For example, for a two-pass scan of a wafer, a first portionof the pattern data corresponding to a first portion of the exposurefields on the wafer is selected for transmission during a first scan,and the remaining portion of the pattern data corresponding to theremaining unexposed fields on the wafer is selected for transmissionduring the second scan. For the first scan, the beam selector 210 routesthe first portion of the pattern data to the pattern streamer 230 fortransmission to the lithography machine. The spare channel selector 320routes beam data/control signals from the signal receiver 150 to therelevant beamlet blanker elements belonging to the patterned beamsselected for the first scan. For the second scan, the beam selector 210and pattern streamer 230 similarly route the remaining portion of thepattern data for transmission to the relevant beamlet blanker elementsbelonging to the patterned beams selected for the second scan. In atwo-pass scan, it is preferred that approximately half of the patterndata is transmitted during each pass to minimize the required capacity(e.g. number of channels) of the data path. A three-pass or othermulti-pass scan strategy may also be implemented in a correspondingfashion, with the pattern data preferably being transmitted inapproximately equal portions during each scan.

The beam selector 210 and the spare channel selector 320 may beimplemented as hardware, software, or a combination of hardware andsoftware. The beam selector 210 may comprise a system for addressingselected locations in the pattern data file 202, e.g. for addressingportions 202 a, 202 b, etc. of the pattern data file which includepattern data for exposure of selected stripes of a field on a wafer. Thespare channel selector 320 and beam selector 330 are described infurther detail below.

Thus, the arrangement of FIG. 7 provides for two methods to achieveredundancy in the lithography system. The set of channels and channelselectors 220 and 320 provide for redundancy in the transmission of beamdata/control signals to the lithography machine. In the embodiment ofFIG. 7, the data path includes redundant pattern streamers 230 to alsoprovide for redundancy in the generation of the beam signals. The beamselectors 210 and 330 also provide for multi-pass scans to provideredundancy for failed beamlets.

In one embodiment of a lithography system, 13,260 patterned beams areused to write 13,000 stripes on the wafer, where each patterned beamcomprises 49 beamlets, and the pattern data provides 13,260 channels ofdata for control of 649,740 individual beamlets. The pattern data isprovided in a data file 202 of an offline system 104. In one embodiment,the data path includes transmission capacity for 7800 channels in thepattern streamer 230, transmission system 240, and signal receiver 150.The 7800 channels are conceptually arranged in 20 clusters, each clustercomprising 357 channels divided into 51 units of 7 channels each and 33additional channels. The pattern data for 13 channels (e.g. the patterndata corresponding to 13 stripes to be exposed on a wafer) correspondsto 13 patterned beams of the lithography machine (for writing the 13stripes on the wafer). The beam selector 210 provides for selection ofpattern data for 7 channels from the pattern data for 13 channels, andthe beam selector 330 provides for switching of 7 transmission channelsto the blanker elements for 7 of the 13 beams of the lithography machinecorresponding to the transmitted pattern data.

In a first scan of a two-pass scan of a wafer, 7140 channels of patterndata are transmitted, i.e. about 54% of the total number of channelsrepresented in the pattern data. The channel selectors 220 and 320operate complementarily to select 357 of the 390 channels available ineach cluster in each of the 20 clusters, thus selecting 7140 channelsout of the total 7800 channels available. For each of the 20 clusters,if any of the selected working channels in the 51 units of the clusterhave failed, one of the 33 non-selected additional channels of thecluster is used instead. Alternatively, if one or more channels in aunit as failed, the entire unit is deselected and 7 channels from the 33spare channels of the cluster are used instead. Many other substitutionmethods may also be used to select spare channels to replace failedchannels. In the second scan of a wafer, the remaining 6120 channels ofpattern data are transmitted. The channel selectors 220 and 320 operatecomplementarily to select 306 of the 390 channels available in eachcluster in each of the 20 clusters, thus selecting 6120 channels out ofthe total 7800 channels available. For each of the 20 clusters, if anyof the channels have failed, one of the non-selected additional channelsis used instead as described above. Table 1 below summarizes the use ofchannels for this embodiment. Of course, many other arrangements of thepattern data into channels, allocation of channels into groups,distribution of spare channels, and allocation of channels for each scanmay be contemplated using the principles described herein.

TABLE 1 Per cluster Total Data path clusters 1 20 Active channels 3577,140 Additional channels 33 660 Total channels 390 7,800 Channels to betransmitted 13,260 Channels transmitted in first scan 357 7,140 Channelstransmitted in second scan 306 6,120 Subbeams (patterned beams) 13,260Beamlets (49 per subbeam) 649,740

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of a switch 400 for a data patharrangement with redundant paths. In this example the channels of thedata path are arranged in clusters. A switch 400 receives N channels 402in a cluster with a yield of X %. Among the channels 402 are a certainproportion of failed channels. The switch connects functioning channelsfrom among the N channels to output M channels 404 with a yield of 100%.

FIG. 8B shows the N channels 402 of a cluster divided into units 407,each unit comprising, e.g. 7 channels. The switch 400 switches a unit ofthe selected “active” channels 402, and one or more additional channels403 if needed to replace a failed channel 402, to the outputs 408 forinput to a corresponding unit of the blanker array, each unit of theblanker array comprising, e.g. 13 channels for control of 13 patternedbeams. Each output 408 from the switch 400 is sent to a deflector matrix410 comprising a matrix of blanker elements for modulating theindividual beamlets of a patterned beam.

FIG. 9 shows a simplified schematic diagram of a pattern streamer 230and associated components. The data path transforms the pattern data,typically in the form of a GDS-II or similar data file, into on/offsignals for controlling the electron beamlets of a lithography machine.This transformation may be performed in a processing system 140,typically an offline processing and central storage unit performing aseries of transformations on the pattern data. This process typicallyincludes flattening/preprocessing, rasterization, and multiplexingsteps. A description of typical steps follows. Theflattening/preprocessing step transforms the layout data format into adose map. The dose map describes areas on the wafer in vector format andassociated dose rate values. This step may include some preprocessingsuch as proximity effect correction and resist heating correction.Because of the complexity of the preprocessing, this step is preferablyperformed offline. The rasterization step transforms the dose map into astream of control (on/off) signals. The multiplexing step packages thebeamlet data and control signals according to a multiplexing scheme.

Each pattern streamer node 230 a, 230 b, etc. typically comprises anetwork device 232, disk storage unit 233, node processor unit 234,memory 235, and multiple channel processing units 237 a, 237 b, etc. Foreach pattern streamer node, network device 232 functions to connect thenode to the channel selector 220 to receive pattern data from offlinesystem 104 for streaming to the blanker of the lithography machine. Thenetwork device 232 communicates the pattern data to node processor unit234 for conversion of the pattern data into beam data and controlsignals for streaming to the lithography machine blanker. Disk storageunit 233 provides for storage of the pattern data during the conversionprocess. The beam signals generated by the node processor unit arestored temporarily in memory 235 from which the signals are streamed bythe channel processing units 237 a, 237 b, etc.

In this embodiment the pattern streamer node supports several channels,and includes for each channel a channel processing unit 237 a, 237 b,etc. In this embodiment, electro-optical conversion devices 242 a, 242b, etc. receive the streamed beam data/control signals from the channelprocessing units and convert these electrical signals to optical signalsfor transmission over fiber optic cables 244 a, 244 b, etc. The patternstreamer node may be conveniently designed to service 12 channels tomatch commercially available electro-optical converters with 12 separateconverters in one package. For the embodiment described above with thedata path arranged in clusters, each pattern streamer node may bearranged to stream data for a single channel of each of 12 units of acluster.

FIG. 10 shows a simplified diagram of one embodiment of signalreceiving, switching and demultiplexing circuitry for a data path. Theseelements are preferably fabricated on the blanker array so that thereceivers for receiving the optical beam data/control signals and thecircuits for subsequently processing the signals and for controlling theindividual beamlet blanker elements are all in close proximity. This isaccomplished in one embodiment with the blanker array apertures formedin a silicon substrate, and the blanker electrodes,optical-to-electrical converters, switches, and associated circuitryformed on the substrate using conventional lithography and semiconductorprocessing techniques.

The signal receivers 150 comprise optical-to-electrical conversiondevices (e.g. photodiodes) for receiving the optical beam data/controlsignals, and converting the signals back to electrical signals. In theembodiment described above the data path is arranged in clusters, eachcluster comprising 390 channels divided into 51 units of 7 channels eachand 33 additional channels as indicated in FIG. 10 (although fewerchannels are shown for clarity). Each signal receiver 150 receives anoptical signal modulated to represent a serial data/control signal foreach subbeam (e.g. comprising signals to control 49 beamlets in a singlesubbeam) and also receives a reference clock signal 313 for indicatingthe timing when the signals should be read, as described in more detailbelow. A deserializer 314 receives each serial output signal from thesignal receivers 150 and converts it to an 8-bit encoded signal. A8-bit/7-bit decoder receives each 8-bit encoded signal and decodes itinto a 7-bit data signal containing data for control of 7 beamlets.Additional bits for control signals may also be present, e.g. sync andclock signals for synchronizing operation of the beamlet deflectors andassociated circuits.

The second channel selector 320 has 390 inputs and 357 outputs, andreceives the beam data and control signals for all 390 channels in acluster. Under the control of the switch control unit 315, the channelselector 320 connects 357 out of the 390 inputs to its 357 outputs (eachinput and output comprising a set of parallel signals comprising thedata bits for control signals for control of a set of beamlets), so thatany defective channels are not used and 100% of the 357 channelsconnected to the outputs are functioning channels. The first channelselector 220 operates in a similar way, having 357 inputs and 390outputs, the inputs being connected to the same 357 channels out of the390 possible. The first and second channel selectors are coordinated toselect 357 functioning channels for a cluster so that 100% of thechannels for each cluster are functioning channels.

In one embodiment of the first and second channel selectors, the 357active channels in each cluster are logically linked with each other bya closed serpentine loop. Each of the 357 active channels for thecluster are connected to an output of the channel selector 320. Extrachannels are normally distributed over the serpentine loop. This may beachieved by dividing the total 390 channels of one cluster into 6 groupsof 11 and 27 groups of 12 channels, in which each group will have one ofthe additional channels. These additional channels are the same as aregular “active” channel except that they are not connected directly toan input of the first channel selector 220 and output of the secondchannel selector 320. These additional channels can be connected to aninput/output only by means of “shifting”. Each input/output is connectedto a regular “active” channel but can shift a number of places in eachdirection (left or right) along the serpentine loop so that it isconnected to a different regular “active” channel or to one of theadditional channels. The maximum shift may be 2, 3, 4 or more placesalong the serpentine loop. It is calculated that, assuming a channelyield of at least 96%, a system yield of at least 98% can be achievedusing a maximum shift of four in either direction. This can beimplemented with multiplexing or switching circuits connecting one ofevery nine transmission channels (i.e. one “active” channel or one ofthe 4 channels to the left along the serpentine loop or one of the 4channels to the right along the serpentine loop) to one input of thefirst channel selector 220 and one output of the second channel selector320. FIGS. 12-14 show one possible embodiment for implementing thisswitching scheme.

FIG. 12 shows a switching circuit 322 for connecting an input i to anoutput o, and for shifting the input to an adjacent output if required.The switching circuit 322 comprises ten tri-state buffers 324 (labeled ato j) connected in two series circuits. Each buffer is arranged forpassing or blocking a signal at its input. Each series circuit comprisesfive buffers connected in series, and the last buffer in each seriescircuit is arranged to send its output to the output o of the switchingcircuit 322. Each of the remaining buffers in each series circuit isarranged to send its output onward to the input of the next buffer inthe series circuit and also to the input of a buffer in an adjacentswitching circuit. Each of the buffers a-j is controllable to pass orblock the signal at its input. Buffer control signals are generated andtransmitted to each buffer to enable this control. The embodiment shownin FIG. 12 comprises two series of five buffers, although it will beapparent that a different number of buffers may be included in eachseries circuit and/or more series circuits may be included. Increasingthe number of buffers in the switching circuit 322 will permit shiftingof an input signal to a greater number of possible outputs.

The switching circuit may be configured to transfer a single signal frominput to output, or to transfer multiplexed signals (e.g. timemultiplexed signal comprising data, sync, clock signals etc.). Theswitching circuit may be constructed for transferring a set of parallelsignals from input to output, where each input in the diagram of FIG. 12represents a set of parallel inputs, each line represents a set ofparallel lines, each buffer represents a set of buffers, one buffer foreach line, and each output represents a set of parallel outputs. In thisconfiguration, the switching circuit transfers a set of parallel inputsignals to a selected set of parallel output signals, e.g. 7 datasignals, a sync signal, and a clock signal.

FIG. 13 shows a channel selector circuit 326 which comprises a number ofseries circuits 322 arranged in a ladder arrangement where eachswitching circuit 322 forms one “rung” of the ladder. The inputs of eachrung (labeled n−4, n−3, n−2, etc.) form the inputs of the channelselector, and outputs of each rung (also labeled n−4, n−3, n−2, etc.)form the outputs of the channel selector. When the channel selectorcircuit 326 is used for the first channel selector 220, not all of therung inputs will be connected to inputs of the channel selector so thatchannel selector 220 has more outputs than inputs. When the channelselector circuit 326 is used for the first channel selector 320, not allof the rung outputs will be connected to outputs of the channel selectorso that channel selector 320 has more inputs than outputs.

Each buffer in each series circuit of each rung, except for the lastbuffer in each series circuit, has its output connected to an input of abuffer in a series circuit of an adjacent rung, the connectionsalternating so that successive buffer outputs are connected to bufferinputs of different ones of the series circuits of the adjacent rungs.In this way, when a buffer (except a last buffer) is activated to passthe signal at its input to its output, the signal is transferred alongthe series circuit and also onto one of the series circuits of one ofthe adjacent rungs. By selectively activating the buffers, a signal onthe input of a particular rung can be sent directly to the output ofthat rung or shifted onto an adjacent rung and from there onto otheradjacent rungs if desired, to permit direct unshifted output or shiftingan input one or more rungs up or down the ladder to a desired output.Due to the arrangement of the inter-rung connections, the buffers can beselectively activated to permit shifting of an input across one or moreintermediate rungs while still permitting the inputs of thoseintermediate rungs to be transmitted directly (unshifted) to theiroutputs. FIG. 13 illustrates one possible arrangement of connectionsbetween rungs, and many other arrangements are possible to implement theshifting. In FIG. 13, the inter-rung connections are arranged to connectdirectly neighboring rungs, each rung being connected to the next rungup or next rung down the ladder, but other arrangements are possiblewith inter-rung connections spanning several rungs.

FIG. 13 illustrates nine rungs although more rungs will normally beused, i.e. one rung per input/output of the channel selector. Forexample, for second channel selector 320, the ladder circuit may bearranged with 390 rungs, to provide 390 inputs and 357 outputs. Forexample, if the input n is connected to one of the additional channels,the output n of that rung would not be connected to an output of thechannel selector. The inputs of the other rungs shown (n−4, n−3, n−2,n−1, n+1, n+2, n+3 and n+4) are connected to “active” channels and theoutputs of these rungs (n−4, n−3, n−2, n−1, n+1, n+2, n+3 and n+4) areconnected to outputs of the channel selector. Thus, the additionalchannel input n is not connected directly to an output of the secondchannel selector 320 but may be “shifted” to connect to any output up tofour rungs up or four rungs down the ladder, i.e. input n can beconnected to any on of outputs n−4, n−3, n−2, n−1, n+1, n+2, n+3 or n+4.The ladder may be formed into a continuous loop such as a serpentineloop so that every rung has adjacent rungs on either side so that eachinput can be shifted the desired number of places up or down within thechannel selector. Each rung may be configured to transfer a set ofparallel signals from input to output, as described above, where eachset of parallel inputs for a rung is shifted together as a set viaparallel lines, buffers and inter-rung connections, to a set of paralleloutputs.

FIGS. 14A to 14I illustrate possible buffer activation patterns for thecircuit of FIG. 13, to achieve direct unshifted transfer of an input toan output or shifting by up to four rungs (outputs) up or down theladder. These buffer activation patterns provide a set of nine paths fortransfer of an input to an output with a maximum shift of 4 rungs ineither direction, i.e. an output n can receive a signal transferred fromany of the inputs from n−4 to n+4. This set of paths may be selected inany combination so that the transferred signals do not interfere witheach other, provided the paths from the inputs to the outputs do not“cross over” each other, i.e. an output n may receive its signal from aninput which has a higher number than the input from which output n−1gets its signal, and which has a lower number than the input from whichoutput n+1 gets its signal.

Each of the 9 patterns describes a unique path with a pattern of 5enabled buffers and 10 disabled buffers. These paths are defined suchthat if a path is chosen for a particular output, this path does notconflict with all allowed combinations of paths for the other outputs.The allowed number of path combinations for two successive outputs is9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1=45. It will be apparent that other activation patternsare also possible to achieve the shifting, using the arrangement ofconnections in the embodiment of FIG. 13 or other circuit arrangements.

FIG. 14A illustrates a shift of four places down the ladder, to transferthe input n−4 to the output n across three intermediate rungs. Thebuffers shown in solid black fill are switched into a tri-state highinput impedance mode (i.e. disabled) to block the signal at the input ofthe buffer from being transferred to its output. The buffers shown withstriped fill are activated to pass signals at their input to theiroutput (i.e. enabled), and the buffers shown with white fill are notinvolved in the transfer illustrated and their state will depend on thedesired transfer of other inputs in the channel selector circuit.

FIG. 14B illustrates a shift of three places down the ladder to transferinput n−3 to output n across two intermediate rungs. FIG. 14Cillustrates a shift of two places down the ladder to transfer input n−2to output n across one intermediate rung. FIG. 14D illustrates a shiftof one place down the ladder to transfer input n−1 to output n of thenext rung down. FIG. 14E illustrates a direct unshifted transfer ofinput n to output n of the same rung. FIG. 14F illustrates a shift ofone place up the ladder to transfer input n+1 to output n of the nextrung up. FIG. 14G illustrates a shift of two places up the ladder totransfer input n+2 to output n across one intermediate rung. FIG. 14Hillustrates a shift of three places up the ladder to transfer input n+3to output n across two intermediate rungs. FIG. 14I illustrates a shiftof four places up the ladder to transfer input n+4 to output n acrossthree intermediate rungs.

An algorithm may be used to determine the required shifting for eachinput of first channel selector 220 or output of second channel selector320, i.e. the mapping of channels to input/outputs. In one embodiment, alookup table is created indicating for each input/output of the channelselectors the possible channels to which it may be connected. Theordering of the channels to which an input/output can be connected isimportant and is maintained. A control circuit may be arranged toexecute the algorithm and generate control signals for control of thechannel selector, e.g. to control the buffers of channel control circuit326.

In one embodiment, the algorithm includes an outer loop and an innerloop for evaluating possible mappings. The outer loop of the algorithmruns through the sorted list of channel selector inputs/outputs andcreates a list of used channels, adding all defective channels to thislist. For each channel selector input/output, the algorithm performs aninner loop through the list of channel selector inputs/outputs, startingfrom the current input/output to the end of the list and then from thebeginning of the list back to the current input/output. For eachinput/output in the inner loop, the algorithm looks for the firstchannel in the lookup table, in the order defined in the table, that theinput/output can be connected to which has not been used yet or is notdefective. If for an input/output no channel can be found to map to, thealgorithm stops the inner loop and resumes processing on the outer loop.If a channel is found to map to the input/output, the channel that justhas been mapped is added to the list of used channels and the algorithmcontinues in the inner loop with mapping the next input/output. The usedchannel list is used to determine each time if a channel is available.

If for the current input/output in the outer loop as a starting point,all inputs/outputs could be mapped to a channel, then a solution hasbeen found for mapping non-defective channels to all inputs/outputs.Otherwise, the algorithm moves to the next input/output in the outerloop and uses that as the next starting point for the inner loop. If noinputs/outputs as a starting point are available anymore, the outer loopends also and no solution is found.

In one embodiment, the channel selector 320 for each cluster providesits outputs in 51 groups of 7 outputs each, for a total of 357 outputs.The beam selectors 330 receive the outputs from the channel selector 320and switch the outputs to the relevant blanker elements. In theembodiment described above with a dual-pass scan and 7-of-13 selectionof transmission channels for the first scan, each beam selector 330receives one group of 7 outputs from the channel selector and switchesthem to 7 out of 13 possible outputs for the first scan, and beamselector 330 switches 6 transmission channel inputs to 6 out of 13possible outputs for the second scan. In one embodiment, 7 subbeams of arow of 13 consecutive subbeams are selected for the first scan and thebeam selectors 330 operate to direct data and control signals from 7channels output from the channel selector 320 to the deflector matricesfor the selected 7 subbeams of a row of 13 subbeams. For the secondscan, 6 subbeams of the row of 13 subbeams are selected and the beamselectors 330 operate to direct data and control signals from 6 channelsto the deflector matrices for the selected 6 subbeams. In this way, thebeam selector 330 provides for switching of a set of transmissionchannels to a corresponding subset of blanker elements selected from alarger set, to achieve the transmission of data for control of aselected subset of the patterned beams of the lithography machinecorresponding to the transmitted pattern data for one scan of a multiplescan exposure. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a 7-to-13 beam selector330, having 7 inputs (labeled to i6) and 13 outputs (labeled o0 to o12).The beam selector may provide for possible input-to-output mapping suchas shown in the table below for connecting the beam selector inputs tothe outputs:

Input Possible output mapping i0 o0 o1 o2 o3 o4 o5 o6 i1 o1 o2 o3 o4 o5o6 o7 i2 o2 o3 o4 o5 o6 o7 o8 i3 o3 o4 o5 o6 o7 o8 o9 i4 o4 o5 o6 o7 o8o9  o10 i5 o5 o6 o7 o8 o9  o10  o11 i6 o6 o7 o8 o9  o10  o11  o12

FIG. 16 is a simplified circuit diagram of one embodiment of a beamselector 330 showing a possible arrangement of switches. In thisembodiment, a 7 to 13 beam selector is shown implemented as a 7×7 arrayof switches 332 for switching seven inputs i₁ to i₇ to the thirteenoutputs O₁ to O₁₃, under control of beam selector control signals 334for implementing the above input-to-output mapping.

Demultiplexers 340 receive the outputs from the beam selectors 330. Thedemultiplexers are optional, and are used when the beam data/controlsignals are transmitted as multiplexed signals for control of multiplebeamlets. In the embodiment described above with 49 beamlets perpatterned beam, the beam signals may be transmitted as a multiplexedsignal over one channel, the signal containing signals for each of the49 beamlets. For example, the signals may be time multiplexed fortransmission and demultiplexed into a series of data and control signalsfor each beamlet. The demultiplexed beamlet signals are then transferredto the matrix 350 of beamlet blanker elements 152. The beamlet blankerelements 152 modulate or switch the individual beamlets of eachpatterned beam under control of the demultiplexed beamlet signals toachieve exposure of the target according to the pattern data.

Multiplexing, Framing, Coding, and Synchronization

To reduce system costs, one optical fiber may be used for controllingmany blanker elements, each blanker element for modulating a singlebeamlet. In one embodiment, successive control bits sent over each fiberare used for controlling successive blanker elements of the beamletblanker array (i.e. for controlling a series of beamlets). In oneembodiment, each fiber comprises a channel transmitting controlinformation for 49 subbeams of a single patterned beam. This controlinformation can first be buffered before being applied to the blankerelectrodes for each beamlet, or the control information and be applieddirectly without buffering. A buffer could be provided on the beamletblanker array for this purpose. A schematic diagram of a data path withinterleaved/multiplexed subbeams is shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, with ademultiplexing scheme using row and column selectors to decode themultiplexed subchannel to separate the individual control bits for eachbeamlet.

For synchronization purposes and to indicate which bit in the controlinformation stream belongs to which beamlet, some kind of framing ispreferably used. Frame start indicator bits (e.g. 7 bits) may be used ina recurring pattern to which a framer on the beamlet blanker willsynchronize. When a DC balanced transmission sequence is required forthe use of AC-coupled optical transmitters and automatic thresholdadjustment on the photo diode side, some type of suitable encoding ispreferably used. One example is 8 b/10 b coding which maps 8-bit symbolsto 10-bit symbols to achieve DC-balance and bounded disparity, whileproviding enough state changes to permit clock recovery. However, thistype of coding results in a higher bitrates, with 8 b/10 b coding adding25% to the bitrate. Framing and encoding of the signal can also becombined, e.g. by using specific encoded words to mark the start of aframe.

Each channel will carry data for a number of individual beamlets (e.g.49 beamlets). The information will be transmitted in a serial mannerfrom the data path to the blanker. Depending on the demultiplexing andsynchronization implementation on the blanker, there may be a need tocompensate for a “blanker timing offset” resulting from the blankerreceiving control information for different beamlets at different timesdue to the serial data transmission. There are several beamletsynchronization options possible. The synchronization implementationmainly depends on the possibility for implementation on the blanker.

Synchronization of the beamlets may be performed in different ways, forexample synchronize all beamlets to one synchronization signal,synchronize all beamlets in a column, synchronize all beamlets in a row,or do not synchronize the beamlets. For an embodiment with 49 beamletsper patterned beam arranged in a 7×7 array, to synchronize all beamletsto one synchronization signal the control data for 49 beamlets may bebuffered and applied synchronously to each of the 49 blanker electrodesfor switching the beamlets. To synchronize all beamlets in a column, thecontrol data for 7 channels in a each column may be buffered andsynchronously applied to the 7 blanker electrodes for that column ofbeamlets. To synchronize all beamlets in a row, the control data for 7channels in a each row may be buffered and synchronously applied to the7 blanker electrodes for that row of beamlets. When no synchronizationis performed, the control data of all 49 beamlets may be directlyapplied to the blanker electrodes as the data is received by theblanker.

For column, row or no synchronization, individual beamlet pixel timingwill be different. When there are timing differences between beamlets,the differences can be compensated for by shifting pixels in thex-direction. This shift will always be in the subpixel range.Compensation is typically only possible when rasterization is executedin real-time because the shift depends on the row-to-beamletassociation.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing data path elements for a singlechannel, for an embodiment in which one channel provides data for asingle patterned beam comprising 49 individual beamlets. In FIG. 11A,photodiode 304 receives a serial optical beam data/control signal fromthe data path and generates a corresponding electrical serial beamsignal, which is input to amplifier 305 and level adjust 306. The clockand data recovery (CDR) 307 generates a clock from a frequency referenceand phase aligns the clock 308 to the transitions in the received serialbeam signal. The serial signal is converted to a parallel signal in datadeserializer 314 (e.g. an 8-bit encoded parallel signal), and thissignal is decoded to generate a parallel signal (e.g. 7-bits of data)representing the data for control of a group of 7 beamlets. Controlsignals may also be included with the beam data signal, such as a syncsignal and/or clock signal, to result in an 8 or 9-bit parallel beamsignal. The parallel beam data/control signal is then input to switch400 for switching to the appropriate beamlet deflector matrix 350 formodulation of a single patterned beam comprising 49 beamlets.

In FIG. 11B, the serial beam signal is switched to the appropriatedeflector matrix and is received by shift register 342. Shift register342 generates data signals 343 which are output to the memory cell units352, and row counter 344 generates sample signals 345 which clock thedata signals 343 into the memory cell units 352. The distribution ofsignals to the deflectors may also be by column. Each memory cell unit352 comprises memory cells for storing the beamlet control data for 7beamlets, the 7 memory cell units 352 thus storing beamlet data formodulation of 49 beamlets of a single patterned beam.

The beamlet control data is clocked out from the memory cell units andtransferred to the individual electrodes of the beamlet blanker elements356 via row lines 358. Each beamlet blanker element 152 provides for themodulation (i.e. switching) of a beamlet passing through an aperture 355in the beamlet blanker array of the lithography machine. Otherarrangements are of course possible for addressing of the individualbeamlet blanker elements.

Reduction in Required Data Path Capacity

The use of a multi-pass scan with two scans results in the lithographymachine writing at half its maximum capacity. This reduction of thewriting capacity enables a significant decrease the amount of hardwarerequired for the data path.

The concept of a node is used in the following description of oneembodiment of a data path. A node has Y (optical) channels connected andhas available X processing units. The electrical to optical (E/O)converters that are commercially available typically contain 12 channels(i.e. Y=12). The E/O converter (e.g. laser diodes) convert theelectrical control data from the processing units to optical datatransmitted over optical fibers to the blanker array of the lithographymachine. The processing units (e.g. field programmable gate arrays,FPGA's) driving the E/O converters contain X number of channels. An X*Ycrosspoint may be used to switch any of the processing units to any ofthe O/E converters. The X*Y crosspoint may be a separate device or maybe integrated in the processing units. With the crosspoint it ispossible to route any of the processing unit outputs (X) to any of thedata path outputs (Y).

If some optical channels fail, first the possibilities for a shiftbetween the first and second scan of a two-scan exposure may bedetermined where all stripe positions are covered by at least oneproperly functioning channel. When the possible shift positions areknown, it is determined whether the available processing units areallocated between the scans and cover 100% of the stripes.

Reducing the number of processing units per node would significantlyreduce the amount of hardware required for the data path, but willslightly decrease robustness. A 50% reduction (e.g. 12/6 configuration)is the lower limit for reducing the number of processing units per nodefor a dual-pass scan. Configurations close to 50% are particularlysensitive to small clusters of errors (e.g. 5 errors in a cluster). A12/6 configuration is thus less preferred than a 12/7 configuration,which has much reduced sensitivity to error clusters. The 12/7configuration provides a reasonable lower limit for the number ofprocessing units per 12 channels. The number of active channels ispreferably larger than the numbers of stripes to be written (e.g. 2%larger) for good robustness. Increasing the number of active channelsincreases the robustness significantly. Loss of robustness because ofreducing the number of processing units per node may be easilycompensated by using additional channels. Large error clusters (e.g.greater than 5) will decrease the robustness dramatically.

The invention has been described by reference to certain embodimentsdiscussed above. It should be noted various constructions andalternatives have been described, which may be used with any of theembodiments described herein, as would be know by those of skill in theart. Furthermore, it will be recognized that these embodiments aresusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms well known tothose of skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, although specific embodiments have beendescribed, these are examples only and are not limiting upon the scopeof the invention, which is defined in the accompanying claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A maskless lithography system configuredfor exposing a field on a target in a first scan and a second scan,based on pattern data, the system comprising: an electron optical columnfor generating charged particle beamlets for exposing the target, theelectron optical column including a beamlet blanker array including aplurality of beamlet blanker elements for modulating the beamlets; and adata path comprising: a first beam selector; a plurality of second beamselectors, and a plurality of transmission channels for transmitting thepattern data to the beamlet blanker elements; wherein the beamlets arearranged into beamlet groups for exposing stripes within the field onthe target, and beamlet groups are arranged into sets, each setconsisting of groups arranged for exposing adjacent stripes, and whereinthe beamlet blanker elements of each set are communicatively coupledwith a corresponding second beam selector; wherein the data path isconfigured for selecting a first selection of beamlet groups forexposing selected stripes in a first portion of the field during thefirst scan, and configured for selecting a second selection of beamletgroups for exposing further selected stripes in a second portion of thefield during the second scan, wherein the first and second portions ofthe field are different; wherein the first beam selector is configuredfor dispatching pattern data subsets to corresponding second beamselectors via the transmission channels; wherein each of the second beamselectors is configured for controlling the beamlet blanker elements ofselected beamlet groups in a corresponding set during each of therespective first and second scans, and wherein each of the first andsecond selections of beamlet groups comprises less selected beamletgroups from each set than the total number N>0 of beamlet groups in eachset.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein each second beam selector has afirst number of inputs and a second larger number of outputs, the inputsconnected to a first group of transmission channels and the outputsconnected to a second larger group of beamlet blanker elements.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein each second beam selector is configured toconnect a subset of the second group of beamlet blanker elements to thefirst group of transmission channels.
 4. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first and second beam selectors are controlled according to analgorithm for selecting the first subset of beamlets for the first scanand the second subset of beamlets for the second scan, the selectionsbeing made to avoid selecting defective beamlets.
 5. The system of claim4, wherein the field is divided into the stripes, and the algorithmselects the first subset of beamlets for exposing a first subset of thestripes, and selects the second subset of beamlets for exposing a secondsubset of the stripes, wherein the first and second subsets of thestripes comprise all of the stripes and where each stripe is selectedonly once.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the algorithm calculates amovement of the target to enable the first subset of beamlets to exposethe first subset of stripes and the second subset of beamlets to exposethe second subset of stripes.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein thealgorithm calculates a shift between the beamlets and the stripes whichenables a selection of first and second subsets of beamlets to exposeevery stripe of the field after the first and second pass, whileavoiding selection of a defective beamlet.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the first beam selector is positioned between the preprocessingsystem and the pattern streaming system.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein each transmission channel is arranged for communication with acorresponding receiver on the beamlet blanker array.
 10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the second beam selector is connected between thereceivers and the beamlet blanker elements of the beamlet blanker array,for connecting the receivers to a selected subset of the beamlet blankerelements to establish transmission channels for transmitting the patterndata for modulation of the selected subset of beamlets.
 11. The systemof claim 9, wherein the receivers, the second beam selectors, and thebeamlet blanker elements, are fabricated on a substrate of the beamletblanker array.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein each receiver isconnected for transmission of beamlet control signals to a group ofbeamlet blanker elements, and wherein the data path comprises aplurality of multiplexers and demultiplexers, each multiplexer formultiplexing beamlet control signals for transmission over atransmission channel for control of one of the groups of beamlets. 13.The system of claim 1, further comprising first and second channelselectors connecting a subset of selected transmission channels amongthe transmission channels for transmitting the pattern data, wherein thefirst channel selector is connected between the preprocessing system andthe transmission channels and the second channel selector is connectedbetween the channels and the beamlet blanker elements.
 14. A data pathfor transmitting beamlet modulation data to a maskless lithographysystem, configured for modulating a plurality of charged particlebeamlets generated by the lithography system for exposing a field of atarget in two or more scans, wherein modulating the beamlets involvescontrolling a plurality of beamlet blanker elements, the data pathcomprising: a first beam selector; a plurality of second beam selectors,and a plurality of transmission channels for transmitting the beamletmodulation data to the beamlet blanker elements of the lithographysystem; wherein the beamlets are arranged into beamlet groups forexposing stripes within the field on the target, and beamlet groups arearranged into sets, each set consisting of groups arranged for exposingadjacent stripes, and wherein the beamlet blanker elements of each setare communicatively coupled with a corresponding second beam selector;wherein the data path is configured for selecting a first selection ofbeamlet groups for exposing selected stripes in a first portion of thefield during the first scan, and configured for selecting a secondselection of beamlet groups for exposing further selected stripes in asecond portion of the field during the second scan, wherein the firstand second portions of the field are different; wherein the first beamselector is configured for dispatching pattern data subsets tocorresponding second beam selectors via the transmission channels;wherein each of the second beam selectors is configured for controllingthe beamlet blanker elements of selected beamlet groups in acorresponding set during each of the respective first and second scans,and wherein each of the first and second selections of beamlet groupscomprises less selected beamlet groups from each set than the totalnumber N>0 of beamlet groups in each set.
 15. The data path of claim 14,wherein the data path further comprises a preprocessing system forstoring and processing the pattern data and a plurality of transmissionchannels for transmitting the processed pattern data from thepreprocessing system to the beamlet blanker elements.
 16. The data pathof claim 14, wherein the data path further comprises a pattern streamingsystem for receiving pattern data and generating data signals formodulation of the beamlets.
 17. The data path of claim 14, wherein eachsecond beam selector has a first number of inputs and a second largernumber of outputs, the inputs connected to a first group of transmissionchannels and the outputs connected for modulation of a second largergroup of beamlets.
 18. The data path of claim 17, wherein each secondbeam selector is configured to connect a subset of the second group ofbeamlet blanker elements to the first group of transmission channels.19. The data path of claim 14, wherein the first and second beamselectors are controlled according to an algorithm for selecting thefirst subset of beamlets for the first scan and the second subset ofbeamlets for the second scan, the selections being made to avoidselecting defective beamlets.
 20. The data path of claim 19, wherein thefield is divided into stripes, and the algorithm selects the firstsubset of beamlets for exposing a first subset of the stripes, andselects the second subset of beamlets for exposing a second subset ofthe stripes, wherein the first and second subsets of the stripescomprise all of the stripes and where each stripe is selected only once.21. The data path of claim 20, wherein the algorithm calculates amovement of the target to enable the first subset of beamlets to exposethe first subset of stripes and the second subset of beamlets to exposethe second subset of stripes.
 22. The data path of claim 20, wherein thealgorithm calculates a shift between the beamlets and the stripes whichenables a selection of first and second subsets of beamlets to exposeevery stripe of the field after the first and second pass, whileavoiding selection of a defective beamlet.
 23. The data path of claim14, wherein the data path further comprises a pattern streaming systemcomprising a plurality of pattern streamers, each pattern streamer forreceiving a portion of the pattern data and generating streamed datasignals for modulating a corresponding group of beamlets.
 24. The datapath of claim 14, further comprising first and second channel selectorsconnecting a subset of selected transmission channels among thetransmission channels for transmitting the pattern data, wherein thefirst channel selector is connected between a preprocessing system andthe transmission channels and the second channel selector is connectedbetween the channels and beamlet blanker elements for modulating thebeamlets.
 25. The system of claim 1, wherein the first beam selectorcomprises software for addressing selected locations in the patterndata.
 26. The data path of claim 14, wherein the first beam selectorcomprises software for addressing selected locations in the patterndata.
 27. Maskless lithography system according to claim 1, wherein thefirst or second selection of beamlet groups comprises a selection numberMi>0 of beamlet groups from a corresponding set having the total numberN of beamlet groups, wherein N/2≦Mi<N.
 28. Maskless lithography systemaccording to claim 27, wherein the selection number Mi equals 7 and thetotal number N equals
 13. 29. Maskless lithography system according toclaim 27, wherein the data path is configured for selecting a firstpattern data subset in conjunction with the first selection of beamletgroups for exposing the selected stripes during the first scan, andconfigured for selecting a second pattern data subset in conjunctionwith the second selection of beamlet groups for exposing the furtherselected stripes during the second scan; wherein the first beam selectoris configured for dispatching corresponding portions of respective firstand second pattern data subsets to corresponding second beam selectorsvia the transmission channels during each of the respective first andsecond scans, and wherein each of the second beam selectors isconfigured for receiving and redirecting the corresponding first andsecond pattern data subset portions to the beamlet blanker elements ofthe selected beamlet groups in the beamlet group set during each of therespective first and second scans.
 30. Maskless lithography systemaccording to claim 29, wherein each second beam selector comprises aselection mechanism for selectively coupling the selection number Mi oftransmission channels with the selection number Mi of beamlet blankerelements of selected beamlet groups out of the total number N of beamletgroups in the set, and wherein each second beam selector is configuredto receive and redirect the first or second pattern data subset portionfor the selection number Mi of selected beamlet groups to the selectionnumber Mi of beamlet blanker elements, to allow beamlet modulation ofthe selection number Mi of selected beamlet groups during the respectivefirst or second scan.